


No More Nightmares

by JemTheKingOfSass



Series: Free Mom verse [3]
Category: Free!
Genre: Gen, Matsuoka Rin & Nanase Haruka Friendship, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 05:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15188132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JemTheKingOfSass/pseuds/JemTheKingOfSass
Summary: The 12yo RH (flashback) sleepover scene fromForgiveness is Free.





	No More Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> I think you can definitely read this on its own as a simple young RH friendship moment, but it is more impactful (and less random) when paired with Pt 2 of this verse.

  


**

  


Haru hears sobbing, like he's laying next to something small and hurt, and he recalls the runty kitten he saw a few weeks ago on the shrine steps that had to wait too long to eat. That kitten had made a pained mewling noise as it waited for solace and food from its mother. Haru blinks his eyes open, remembering where he is, positive there are not any cats in his bedroom. Just as he turns his head to locate the sound, a vibrantly red and disheveled head of hair pops up from the floor and scurries out of the room.

Somehow Haru had forgotten that there was another child sleeping in his room, which he hopes he can chalk up to disorientation in the middle of the night. But that’s not it; Haru is absolutely certain it is because that sorrowful, pitiful whimpering is not a noise that he associates with Rin. His friend is...a lot. He’s many things, and Haru in his tired state tries to start a list of all the words he could use to label Rin. Annoying, loud, pushy, stubborn, impossible--

Happy.

More than anything else, Rin always seems happy. Sure, maybe sometimes it’s with a fierce, impatient focus behind the smile, or a teasing glint as he’s about to spout off some stupid idea, but the pleasant expression remains no matter what. Now that Haru thinks about it, that’s pretty silly. No one can be happy all the time, especially when one of your parents isn’t around anymore. Haru should know. His father is not around much either, not dead, but sometimes it feels like he is. At least Rin has his mother, who is one of the warmest, kindest women he’s ever met. Haru’s mother is back in Iwatobi again now, but he doesn’t know if it’s forever. He thinks it might be and hopes it is, he missed her so much when she traveled all the time. Rin is so lucky he knows his mother will always be at home waiting for him. Guilt washes over Haru at that last thought; he cannot possibly be jealous of Rin with only one living parent simply because his parents travel for work. It’s not at all the same and Rin has it so much worse, Haru is sure of it. Except that he isn’t sure at all.

Haru wonders where his friend ran off to and hopes he hasn’t gone to seek out comfort. He won’t find it. There is little warmth to be found in the Nanase home any longer; Haru knows, he’s searched for it many times. Soothing tranquility used to be found in the loving arms of his Baba, his most favorite person in the entire world, wrapping him up whenever he needed it, never questioning why he wanted it, freely given and asking nothing in return. But Baba is gone, just like Rin’s father; they have both lost someone so why does Haru feel like he’s the only one who ever gets sad? Makoto is always smiling, even when he’s cowering in fear or nervous to be by the water. Rin is always smiling, but Haru doesn’t know anything beyond the face. There must be something lurking inside Rin for him to cry and flail and hide from Haru in the middle of the night. Haru usually doesn’t understand Rin, but this is familiar in that he is sure everyone deals with monsters.

Footsteps pound up the stairs and Haru’s eyes fly open in anticipation, he can’t help but feel a spike of adrenaline at whatever is charging towards his bedroom. The door creaks open more slowly than he would have thought, he had been expecting a bang, and Rin slowly shuts it behind him. Haru sits up in bed and watches the other boy lean against the closed door, panting, eyes squeezed into tight little creases on his pale face. One stripe of moonlight cuts across Rin’s face, illuminating tear tracks on his cheeks. His eyes open and lock on to Haru’s, shining even in the dimness, looking scared and ashamed.

Haru extends an arm towards Rin and pats the side of the bed next to him. Rin’s eyes open wide in surprise, his mouth turns up slightly at the edges, an expression hinting at the more familiar one that Haru always sees, has gotten used to, maybe even relies on a little. He grabs the pillow from the futon and shuffles over to climb up on the bed, then lays down with his back to Haru. 

“There’s plenty of room,” whispers Haru, wanting to wipe away all traces of sadness from his friend. 

Rin glances over his shoulder, but then determinedly swivels his head back so Haru is not able to see him. “Okay.”

“Are you going to be able to go back to sleep now?” Haru asks, not because he’s tired or annoyed, but he genuinely hopes Rin can be comfortable again in Haru’s room. Haru is the one who begged his mother for days for this sleepover, not even sure why it felt so important to have Rin here before he leaves Iwatobi, before he leaves _Japan_ , but he was overwhelmed with the urge. He thinks his mother caved in eventually because she was so tired of hearing him talk about it, the first words out of his mouth when he got home from school, the last words he’d utter before she said good night. But his persistence prevailed and Rin had been allowed to stay overnight, and now Rin is here in Haru’s bedroom sleeping over. Except neither boy is sleeping; instead they are both laying in Haru’s bed, not quite sure what to do in the middle of the night when slumber is eluding them. Rin is upset and probably humiliated, and Haru isn’t sure what to do about either of those things. 

“Don’t be embarrassed, Rin,” commands Haru, tone much more confident than he feels. He is out of his depth here, he’s never really had to console anybody. When Makoto gets too distressed, he goes home to where his mother loves him up and his little siblings distract him. 

Rin’s fists grind into his eyes defensively. “I’m not!” 

“Okay,” replies Haru, not believing him at all, but allowing Rin to cling to that sentiment if that’s what he needs. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Rin’s breath hitches and he holds it, Haru sees his shoulders tighten with the effort. He tentatively reaches out and places his hand gently on Rin’s shoulder. His friend immediately lets out a quiet whoosh of air, like Haru pushed a button to make him exhale. “Y-yeah, I did. But it’s fine now.”

That doesn’t sound right to Haru. “Okay,” he says. There is silence, and Haru can feel Rin breathing through his palm, where his hand still rests on him. He counts the rises and falls of Rin’s shoulder, which is gradually lulling Haru back to sleep. His eyes are slipping closed, although he fights it to watch the tangled head of hair in front of him, wanting Rin to be able to fall asleep first.

“Hey Haru?” Rin’s voice is so quiet, Haru thinks he might be dreaming already.

He merely hums in response so as to not break the temporary calm that has settled over the room. 

“Do you have an extra pillow or anything? I, umm, usually hold one while I sleep and I forgot to bring mine.” Rin’s voice is small, but Haru feels a tiny surge of pride that Rin, the boy who fervently thinks he can accomplish anything he sets his mind to, has requested something of him. Something that has nothing to do with his swimming. 

Haru does have an extra pillow, but Rin is already using it for his head. He wracks his brain, considering his dolphin plush and his spare blanket at the foot of the bed, which maybe can be squashed into a pillow-like shape. He slips out of bed and pads over to his closet. He glances back at the bed and notices Rin is up, kneeling on the mattress and tracking his every move. He bites his lip and gropes around his closet, blindly feeling around a high shelf for the item he thinks will work. His fingers touch it and he yanks it down. He crouches in front of Rin on the bed and hands him the retrieved bundle. “Here.”

Rin lifts it to his face and deeply inhales, his eyes closed while he maneuvers the fabric into a shape he can attempt to find solace in. “It smells like cologne.”

“It’s an old sweatshirt of my father’s. He doesn’t wear it anymore, and I-” Haru cuts himself off abruptly.

Rin snaps his eyes over to Haru, unabashed curiosity oozing out of him. “You what?”

Haru frowns and turns his head to the side. This is the Rin he is much more used to, prying into his life, making him slightly uncomfortable, digging into Haru farther than he wishes to be dug into. Rin always makes him feel things, think about things, want things. It’s unsettling, but Haru is happy Rin is here and not so scared anymore in the middle of the night. “I asked him to let me have it since he’s not home much. I-I like that it smells like him.”

“It kinda smells like my dad, too.” Rin smiles tiredly, starting to come down from the energy rush of his nightmare and the mad dash through Haru's house, and nuzzles into the worn fabric. “Do you think all men wear the same cologne or aftershave or whatever?”

Haru shakes his head. “No.”

“Oh.” Rin sighs and lays back down, under the covers this time. He tucks the sweatshirt into a ball and holds it tightly against himself with his forearms, hands clasped underneath his chin. He tilts his head down and takes a couple long, slow inhales. “I like this smell. This is perfect. Thank you, Haru.”

“You’re welcome, Rin.” Haru slips under the covers next, and knows this should be it, they should both fall asleep now. But he still has a question that he knows he will be too nervous to ask in the fresh light of the morning, when the sunshine pulls Rin back where he belongs, to the place where radiant things sparkle and glow slightly out of reach. “Where did you go when you left my room?”

Rin shifts his head so his mouth isn’t muffled by his makeshift pillow. He chuckles self-consciously, and Haru is convinced he’d be rubbing at the back of his neck if he wasn’t in bed wrapped around a comfort item. Haru is proud that Rin hasn’t let it go since it’s been handed to him. “I forgot I was at your house for a second. I went downstairs looking for my mom so I didn’t wake up my sister. But then I made a wrong turn at the bottom of the stairs because it’s not my house, and I went to the kitchen thinking maybe your mom could help but...I don’t know. She looked tired and like she didn’t want to be bothered and I was embarrassed that she saw me crying, so.” Rin shrugs through his discomfort.

“She’s not too good at nightmares,” agrees Haru, satisfied with Rin’s answer, not sure what he’d been expecting to hear, but obsessing over whether or not his mother had been able to soothe away Rin’s distress in any way. Haru considers faking a bad dream tomorrow night just to attempt to get a few stolen minutes with his mother in the middle of the night, maybe even an extra cuddle or a kiss. Maybe he’ll try, it’s worth a shot. “You were crying?”

Rin scowls, Haru can see the look even without seeing most of his friend’s face. “Yeah,” he grumbles, though there is the smallest catch of a fresh sob that belies the cover Rin has in place. Haru wishes he hadn’t asked, he wants Rin smiling and happy and feeling safe. He wants him chattering, to stay opened up and sharing his joys and fears, Haru wants to protect him. He wants--

Haru scoots closer to Rin without a second thought. He throws an arm around his waist and tugs him backwards a little until Rin’s back lies flush against his chest, his body heat radiating through their layers of pajamas. The temperature is not surprising, Rin is warm in every way. Haru bends his legs a little, so they match the angle of the other boy’s and slot against his like puzzle pieces. Haru curls protectively around Rin and rests his forehead lightly against the back of Rin’s neck. 

They lay there together like that for only a few moments before Haru hears Rin’s breathing even out into the steady rhythm of slumber. He imagines Rin might even be purring, content like the tiny, starving shrine kitten after finally getting fed. He squeezes Rin once, a hug he wouldn’t dare give when he is awake, and senses he is only seconds away from sleep himself.

“No more nightmares, Rin. I’ve got you.” Haru mumbles the words into his friend before tumbling after him into dreamland.

  


**

  


**Author's Note:**

> For my Alexis, who clamored for this scene to be written out. She's a little young for the main story (which according to her is "literally unfair"), but I mentioned this scene and she got excited that there could be something about when RH are around her age. So here we are.
> 
> *sweats* Also I think I just killed off Haru's grandmother too soon for canon compliance. *shakes a fist at my incompetent memory and the vague information provided for the Nanases* Let's chalk it up to taking a few small artistic liberties with the timeline.  
> 


End file.
